I can't seem to do anything these days. At home I seem to be playing video games mostly (Knights of the Old Republic II, and I just got my lightsaber, which may explain things) instead of working on my numerous projects. At work I'm even less productive, updating my blog or consulting ancient fortune telling devices instead of working on work. I threw my rings, what does the I Ching have to say about this?

The nuclear (shadow)hexagram, representing a hidden possibility with the situation, is Chia Jen: The family (clan)--For example, here a man returns to his family/clan where there is no tension in that each member of the family speaks the same language... This is a relaxing influence; when one has travelled in foreign lands it is good to sometimes hear one's own language.

Three lines change*, and it becomes hexagram 3: Chun, difficulty at the beginning: By introducing this hexagram as context, you can change a state described by any other hexagram into a state described by hexagram 42.

Hexagram 42 is Yi: increase, advance, promote, benefit, strengthen.

"In hexagram 42 we find a moment given to understanding the cycles. We are far from the points of transition. We are in a position to see the cycles and thus to observe them and learn to use them to succeed (augment oneself) and avoid those that can do damage. This is a step up, a change from one level of refinement to the next; an increase in one's commitment to a path. Contextually, we combine uniting (drawing in) with coming back to the 'true' path and thus augmentation and ascendence.

So, to sum up, I'm having productivity issues at work and at home. My current situation is describe as a feeling of constriction or enforced waiting. With great effort I can change this (via Chun, difficulty at the beginning) into Yi: the ability to strengthen myself and increase my commitment to a path. A hidden possibility within this constricting situation is that of Family, a source of comfort among like minds.

Finally, there is a suggestion that I should adopt a facade. The current situation, described by K'un, includes the advice:One therefore needs to control(limit) one's attitude. Develop a facade until times change.

The complementary (mirror-image) hexagram, Pi, warns that "facades can be important for social survival, but one must be weary of mistaking them for reality".

I'm not sure exactly what the facade business means, but it seems clear that I'm tired out after an exhausting move (the "root cause" hexagram is Sheng: "to rise through effort") into a new environment full of strange people who are always around. At the beginning things are difficult, but I should wait patiently (and with great intensity?) until I grow accustomed to the new situation, at which point I will be able to use it to strengthen myself and further my goals. As a side note, I shouldn't forget how nice it is to live with friends who know me (or will come to know me) so well.

*(It is important to remember that, when using transformative methods, the more lines requiring change, the more energy required when attempting to introduce a different context.)